OFFICER1.TXT -- 1/4 Standard disclaimers apply. AN OFFICER AND HIS WOMEN By an218244@anon.penet.fi * * * * * Part 1 of 4: A Visitor from the Past * * * * * It was a pleasant afternoon in 1961. After twenty-three years of service in the Red Army, I had finally left the service of Mother Russia and was ready to enjoy the rewards of my labors. I was guaranteed a lifelong pension and an apartment of my own. I had always had a fondness for the east German countryside, since I first saw that land in 1944. Accordingly, when I was offered a choice of homes for my retirement, I selected one in Jurgensberg, a hamlet east of Dresden near the Czechoslovakian border. It had been four weeks since I had finished moving in to my new residence. I was dissatisfied with the butler I had been provided, so I released him from his duties and asked the state employment agency to send me several prospective replacements. I was anxious to select a hard-working, attractive housemaid who could serve me as well as Liesl had in the years immediately after the great war ended. Today, the first applicants were to visit me, so I was not surprised when the doorbell rang shortly after 10:00 AM. On the doorstep was a fit woman in her mid-30s, wearing a simple dark green dress. "This is the home of Colonel Chebyshev, no?" she said in perfect Russian, though with a heavy north German accent. She was older than I had hoped for, and the tone of her voice suggested she would not be suitably submissive. I was about to turn her away when she, unbidden, stepped across the threshold and addressed me again. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ulrike A. Hofmacher, though you know me only by my second given name, Anna." I looked at her, trying to remember where I had seen her before. She saw the blank look on my face and continued. "I see you do not remember me. Let us retire to your study and I will refresh your memory." Dazed by her nerve in addressing me in this fashion, I followed her as she strode briskly past me and into the library at the end of the hall. She spoke again. "You no doubt are aware of the plan to isolate Berlin from the world that your spiteful superiors have devised." My blood boiled, but I was speechless. "I have already packed all my belongings and moved out of my home in Rostock. By sunset I shall be in the West. However, before I go, I have some unfinished business with you." Rostock -- I had not been there since 1945. I must have met this woman then. But I couldn't place her. "I have something to show you." She pushed me into my reclining chair, faced away from me, set down her handbag, and quietly rustled with her clothing. To my surprise, her blouse and skirt fell swiftly and silently to the floor, exposing the bare skin of her back, buttocks, and thighs. My breath caught in my throat as I realized who she was. Her beautiful nude body was crisscrossed with faded, but still distinct, red scars. The memories of 1945 came flooding back.